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Wall Street closes higher on material shares
Published 0:13 AM, 24 Mar 2011 Last update 7:45 AM, 24 Mar 2011


Reuters

NEW YORK - US stocks advanced on Wednesday as materials shares rose, but rising commodities prices due to turmoil in the Middle East and North Africa could keep rallies modest.

The market's favoured indicator of anxiety, the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index or VIX, shows investor worry over unsettled world situations has been tempered for the moment. But the lack of volume and moderate gains suggest optimism is limited in scope.

"Nobody really wants to step in front, they are waiting to see, and obviously the selling was a little overdone on the Japan situation," said Peter Jankovskis, co-chief investment officer at OakBrook Investments LLC in Lisle, Illinois.

"There is nothing else out there right now to kind of provide that kick up."

About 7.01 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and Nasdaq -- below the daily average of 8.07 billion. The market posted the worst trading volume of the year on Tuesday.

The S&P index of materials stocks rose 1.4 per cent and was the S&P 500's top-performing sector. The sector climbed in sync with metals prices, including copper , which was up more than 2 per cent.

Brent crude settled at $US115.55 a barrel and US crude gained 78 cents to settle at $US105.75, the highest close since September 2008, as further unrest in Yemen added to risks of oil supply disruptions in the region.

"These rising commodity costs could be with us for some time -- that creates a headwind for growth," said Karl Mills, president of Jurika, Mills & Keifer Investment Partners, in Oakland, California.

While higher oil prices would benefit energy companies, they would have a dampening effect on economic growth over a longer time horizon.

Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold shares jumped 5 per cent to $US54.88 after chief executive Richard Adkerson, speaking at a Reuters summit in New York, said the company has the balance sheet to handle a large acquisition.

As for the outlook for energy demand and costs, Mills said:

"Japan now has to replace 10 per cent of its electricity production, probably through natural gas and oil. Some of it will come from the Middle East, which is going through its own trouble right now.

"That probably gives energy pricing more of a floor where it is."

Refiner Valero Energy gained 2.6 per cent to $28.83. For the year, Valero's stock is up nearly 25 per cent.

Shares of Exxon Mobil, up 0.05 per cent at $US82.60 on Wednesday, have gained 13 per cent since the start of the year.

Money manager Van Eck Global resumed creating new shares of its Market Vectors Egypt Index Exchange Traded Fund after the local Egyptian market reopened.

SPX - Still outside the bullish trading zone imo



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